Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S.-China relationship “is on a strong and solid base,” and Chinese President Hu Jintao commended the “maturity of the relationship” between the countries during an early round of talks on Wednesday—but China’s top newspaper raised concerns that the U.S. is seeking to meddle in China’s disputes in the South China Sea with Japan and other South Asian countries. The man expected to be Hu’s successor, Xi Jinping, reportedly canceled on Clinton because of what a U.S. official said was a back injury. U.S. officials insisted the tone of Clinton's trip would not change.
